You and Me
by sieveandsand
Summary: A series of one shots about various pairings in the show, some obscure, some well-loved.
1. Admiration

**A/N: This is the first story of the bunch, focusing on the pairing of Vinnie and Minka. Though I have my own opinions about the two in my headcanon that don't really allow for them to get together, it's a really cute ship. I found it to be a pretty good first start. This is the first thing I have ever submitted to the site, so please be sharp with the criticism! My writing is a little rusty and I need all the help I can get.**

**Note that I am also OPEN for ideas at this time! I plan on making a story for most of the major pairings in the show and even a lot of obscure ships, but I don't have ideas laid out for all of them. Please feel free to chime in in that regard. If I like your idea, I will likely write it out.**

** Thanks for your support!**

With a decisive splatter of red-orange paint, Minka's day was finally coming to an end.

She had spent the entire rainy Thursday unusually focused, hard at work on what turned out to be her biggest project yet. In terms of the spider monkey's rather small attention span, it was an amazing feat; the behemoth of a painting that stood before her was a testament to how accomplished she could be if she channeled her energy.

However, once the final few drops of paint left her eager fingers and married themselves with the canvas, she found she could contain herself no longer. Her typical brand of restless, cheerful energy seized her as she raced towards the television, assured her friends would be there, waiting on her.

They were going to love this.

She couldn't reach the TV fast enough. The moment she caught sight of the others, she approached them without abandon. Not everyone was there watching the program, but her audience would have to do.

A few of her friends looked up expectantly, wondering where she had been. She gave them no time to ask.

"Oh my gosh you guys, you're never going to believe this! I've been working allllll day and guess what?! It's finished, it's finished, it's finally finished!" she cheered, practically running in circles around them.

Even though she was chattering enough for her mood to be infectious, none of the others quite shared her enthusiasm. In fact, several painful seconds transpired before any of them spoke up. It was Penny Ling who took the first plunge.

Sugar-sweet, she cooed, "Oh, Minka! Is that where you've been? Making a painting?"

Minka made a mental note to herself that she was, in fact, making _art, _not just a painting. However, she was too excited to be annoyed with her friends, even if they were all staring at her with mostly blank expressions.

"Yes indeedy!" she chirped in response to the panda, "Took me all day, too!

"Mmm, that's wonderful Minka," Russell said from behind his clipboard, "Very nice."

Zoe piped in as well, feigning interest, "Yes, yes. So proud of you, Minka. We really must take a look at it sometime!" Though her tone might have suggested otherwise, she did not take her eyes off of the program at hand. Pepper and Sunil, the remaining two pets, said nothing in response to Minka's excitement, fueling her disappointment.

Though she was trying her hardest not to get upset at her friends' nonchalance, she fought the urge to turn the television off and force them to appreciate the artwork she was so enthusiastic about showing them. She was so proud of her piece—why didn't they care? None of them seemed even remotely interested, and most had turned their attention back towards the TV, assuming Minka's outburst was finished.

Indeed it was. The spider monkey wrung her tail disconsolately, too upset with her friends' response to actually be angry with them. None of the eyes were on her now as she muttered a hurried "sure" and slunk away from the other pets' vision, and back to the company of her painting.

The pilgrimage back to her masterpiece was slow and solemn, but she felt a bit better once she returned. The bright hues of her work practically danced around on the canvas, doing wonders to lift her spirits. In fact, that was exactly what it was for; although it was an abstract piece, full of seemingly random designs that took no real shape, it had a very clear purpose. The monkey artist saw it as a representation of her cheerful nature and optimism, and she created it in the attempt to put her friends in good spirits when she herself couldn't.

_Then why doesn't anyone want to see it? I did it for them!_

She didn't have time to answer her own question. Instead, all of her thoughts stood still as she realized a startling fact.

She had company. Vinnie.

She hadn't particularly noticed his absence at the TV earlier, and she _definitely _didn't expect him to be ogling her art instead. But here he was, admiring her masterpiece. His mouth was agape, his hands by his sides. She almost laughed, because it was so undeniably earnest, so undeniably Vinnie, that she knew it was genuine. There was no way he was faking interest for her sake; this was a thought that brought her good spirits back full circle.

Before she could chime in with renewed excitement, the gecko made an abrupt turn towards her, his eyes shining with amazement.

"Minka," he said, almost gasping as he gestured wildly at her work, "Did you do this?!"

"Sure did!" she replied, grinning.

"Oh-ho-ho-man, this is awesome! How did you do this? I mean, it's amazing! Wait till I tell the others about thi—"

Oh, yeah. _The others. _Just like that, her good mood was again killed. She placed a hand behind her back, trying her best to look sheepish and not completely depressed. "Iiiii don't think that's a good idea."

He cocked an eyebrow, his smile still firmly in place.

"Well, why not? I'm sure they'd love to—"

She cut him off again, too upset to let him finish.

"But they didn't! They didn't even care! I worked my tail off all day and I'm so so proud of this and I can't believe they don't even wanna take a look at it! I thought we were friends, I thought they were supposed to care! Aaaand do you remember that one time?! Where they found out people wanted to buy my stuff? That was the only time they all cared, and it was just so they'd all be rich! I love art, Vinnie, why can't they care about that, or even about me?!" Her last few sentences came out as a soft plea, her voice losing its usual rambling tone as she laid bare all her emotions to the waiting gecko. She held back the tears, but barely—her anger was ebbing in place of sadness, and it was becoming hard to hide. She turned away from him and her painting.

He wasn't ready to let her wallow in her own sadness. He made a leap towards her, placing himself once again in her line of sight. His face showed only empathy and distress.

He took a deep breath and exhaled softly, likely trying to find the right words to say to Minka before addressing her with a slow "Ahh, I'm—I'm sorry, Minks. You know how the others can be sometimes—. I'm sure they have a reason for not bein' so excited. I don't get why they wouldn't wanna see this though, I mean, heh" he stopped to chuckle softly, reaching a scaled hand out to her own, "It's wicked cool. It's so deep, and I mean, no one in their right mind would turn down checkin' this thing out."

He gave her a grin

"Guess you must not be in your right mind then," she said. She meant to sound angry, but it came out as more of a joke. Already, he was rubbing off on her.

"Psssh, as if that wasn't obvious already!" they both laughed then.

"Hey, wanna come with me? I got an idea—we can ask Blythe for a frame for this baby. The others will be so jealous when they see it all dressed up, they won't be able to keep their eyes off of it!"

"Guess not!" she replied rather modestly. After a moment of thought, she tacked on a cheerful, "Hey, wanna hear about how I made it? Gotta warn you, it's a loooong story!"

Her bubbly tone was back, along with her fast paced manner of speaking. She was practically bouncing up and down, the whole incident of her friends neglect merely a memory. Vinnie knew she would forgive them instantly for their wrongdoings. That was the Minka he loved to see.

He grabbed her hand again as they headed towards the dumbwaiter.

"I've got time!"


	2. Fireworks

**Sorry for the long wait—I was busy with work the whole month of July. I have a few days' vacation before work resumes, but I hope to pick up the pace a little once school starts. **

**-This one's a Sunil/Vinnie meaning this is technically slash! So avoid that if it's not your thing. To Sepper fans… don't worry! The Sepper fic is the next one on the press (followed by Penny/Russell and then whatever you guys want!). **

"Hey, Sunil!"

From inside the cat house, Sunil sighed in response to his caller's voice. He definitely had been snapped out of his reverie—having spent the entire morning running his paws distractedly over the cool floor of his hideout, he had almost lulled himself into a false sense of security.

_Any other day. Just please… please, any other day._

He sighed. He was serious—any other day. Any other day, he would not be worried sick, not be hiding out, not be upset that his best friend was beckoning him.

But today was not like any other day. It was the Fourth of July, Sunil's absolute least favorite holiday. The fireworks, the cheers, the wild hordes of people celebrating something the he found rather trivial— what was there to like? Absolutely everything about it sent the mongoose's anxiety levels soaring sky-high, high enough to force him to hide away for the entire 24-hour period during which the commotion occurred (and sometimes longer, depending on the level of patriotism found in Downtown City on that particular year). Unless he was at home on the dreaded day (the Nevlas, though usually sensitive to their pet's fears, often spent the holiday at the lake), he was at the pet shop, doing what he always did—hiding in the cat house, strumming his fingers against its floor.

He had almost made the whole day, too. Even though it was the gecko's first 4th spent at the shop, Vinnie seemed accepting of Sunil's fear and promised, though reluctantly, to leave him be.

Why, then, was Sunil being beckoned at 7 in the evening… 1 hour till closing?

"SUNIL!" the voice below prodded, seeming to have read the mongoose's mind.

Sunil bit his lip and pulled his ears further down his head. If he didn't answer this irritating beckoner, he knew he'd be in for it all evening. Still, if he _did _answer… who knows what sort of frightening things he'd be dragged into? He held his breath, hoping the pet would disappear.

"Sunil, if you don't answer me, I'm about to come in and get ya!"

He couldn't take it anymore. In a sudden burst of irritation, Sunil thrust his head out of the cat house opening, livid with anger and shivering with fright.

"WHAT?" he nearly shrieked, tugging at his ears again, "What could you _possibly_ want, Vinnie? I asked you for one day of solitude, can you not give me that?"

From below, the gecko suppressed a smile. Seeing Sunil like this was such a common occurrence that he found the outburst almost endearing.

He couldn't hide the grin. "No way, dude! I've been sittin' out here with Penny and Zoe alllll dang day, borin' myself to death. If you don't come out in two seconds, I'm comin' in after ya. Caprese?"

Sunil heaved another sigh. Vinnie's word confusion almost elicited a chuckle from him, but he was too adamant to find his best friend as hilarious as he usually did.

He wasn't budging.

"Not a chance, Vinnie. Today is the Fourth of July—there is _far_ too much commotion going on outside for me to be running about. I even gave you a chance to come in here with me. If you did not take it, that is your fault. I do not wish to be cross with you, but I am staying in here the rest of the day, I can assure you of that."

In typical Vinnie fashion, the gecko pretended not to hear him. Sunil was his best bro every other day of the year, why did today have to be any different? Besides, Russell, Pepper and Minka were all celebrating the 4th with their families—this would be the perfect opportunity to have some alone time with the mongoose.

Vinnie waved a hand dismissively at his trembling friend.

"Psh, whatever. You're comin' with me!"

With that, he hopped right into the cat house and took Sunil by the paws. The struggle to pull the mongoose out was long and fierce, but Vinnie's indomitable spirit eventually won out over Sunil's wavering, fretful style of resistance. Eventually, they both laid sprawled out on the floor of the shop in a tangled mix of green and blue.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Vinnie inquired of his friend, casting a sidelong glance at Sunil. The mongoose was still trembling fiercely, looking around for bursts of fireworks that, for now, remained nonexistent.

His teeth were chattering. "Y-y-yes, that was very bad. May I go back in the cat house now?"

"Uh, no," the gecko scoffed, "We haven't even seen the show yet."

"S-show?" Sunil didn't like the sound of that. There was no _way_ Sunil would go confront those nasty, loud… abominations head on. Not even if Vinnie asked.

But Vinnie didn't ask, he demanded. "Yeah, the show. Gonna start in a few minutes, and there's a pretty good view of it from outside the shop. Blythe already took the girls out there, I figured we'd grab a blanket and go too."

Before Sunil could respond, he was grabbed by the paw once more. This time, he could find no energy to resist as his friend pulled him out into the open street in front of the pet shop. Hordes of people were already there, with the girls sitting a few feet away.

His nervous eyes took it all in, and his quaking knees caved as soon as the gecko brought the blanket to him. He grabbed the fabric and wrapped himself up in it, leaving no room for any part of his blue banded body to stick out.

Vinnie couldn't help but laugh this time. Sunil was _too _cute.

He grabbed the blanket and knocked Sunil lightly on his covered head, worming his way under the covers as he did so.

"Oh, move over, ya big chicken. Leave some space for your eyes, too..." Nothing doing. "You'll miss the shooooow!"

The teasing note Vinnie ended his sentence on left Sunil with a funny taste in his mouth, one that turned to acid once he realized something else—Vinnie was _touching _his hand.

Ignoring his pressing fear for a moment, Sunil bolted upright, looking straight ahead. Was Vinnie… trying to _hit _on him? He felt the gecko's scaled hand dance around his, and immediately his insides turned to mush. His head started to spin, he felt his face turn a brilliant shade of red. His hand froze, but he did not—could not—move it.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Sunil asked feebly, voice trembling. He already knew the answer.

Vinnie played it just as cool as Sunil thought he would. He gave a small smile to the mongoose. "Eh, you know, trying to calm you down. You said you hate fireworks. Figured a hand would help."

"You are right, I do very much dislike them, but I—"

Just then, a crack and a boom began the show, sending ribbons of fireworks shooting far off into the sky. Sunil turned rigid and shrieked with fright. Forget his hand—Sunil was going for Vinnie's arms the moment the second blast was fired. It was a matter of minutes before the two were cheek to cheek under the blanket, the mongoose grasping for every inch of his friend he could take in. Mad as he was at Vinnie for making him see this horrifying show… Sunil really needed him right now.

Vinnie said nothing, but gave a small chuckle. He was turning a little red, himself. "Sunil," he said, smiling warmly, "Are you even looking at the show. Calm down, buddy, it's all for fun!"

Sunil was about to protest, but something in the way he was clinging to Vinnie made him stop in his tracks. The comforting grasp, the cheerful smile of his friend against the backdrop of the city… Sunil's gears started to turn. He remembered what Vinnie was up to… and he liked the idea. With each boom and bang of the fireworks, he winced a little less, calmed a little more. He wasn't exactly enjoying himself yet, but, here with Vinnie, he had an inkling he might learn to.

In what seemed like eons, his breathing finally slowed and his galloping heart returned its semi-normal pace. His grip on Vinnie never lessened, but his smile grew to match his friend's as he looked on towards the sky.

Maybe it _was_ his day, after all.


	3. Boring

**Here it is, guys, the Sepper one I promised, hot off the press. Sepper is my OTP, but I see it as more of an awkward crush on Pepper's part wherein it's unknown if Sunil actually returns her feelings. Talking too much… anyways! This is set in the same general course of events as "Penny for Your Laughs". Hope I got the details right… enjoy!**

Pepper didn't mean to say it. She was just going on down the line, you know? Trying her new shtick out on everyone. She wasn't even thinking when the words came out of her mouth. Not even his sparkling amber eyes could persuade her to stop her incoming joke.

"Sunil, you're so boring, sheep count you!"

What… what the _hell? _What did she just say?

At about the same moment the mongoose turned away to put his head sadly on the box in front of him, Pepper wanted to punch herself in the jaw.

She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, how untrue her words were, how mean she was being. She could have thrown herself down at his little blue feet if it would make him smile for her.

But she didn't. That was how it always was—no matter how much she loved her friends, no matter how much they meant to her, she still didn't find the right ways to express her feelings. That was why she didn't stop to apologize. In fact, she kept moving down the line; Minka was her next target, the pink spider monkey Pepper loved so much receiving exactly the same treatment as the now-dejected mongoose.

It was only that night, in the comfort of her own house, where Pepper really felt the guilt. Sure, she had fixed things with Penny Ling… but Sunil was a different story. She knew the others had gotten over their respective jabs quite quickly—Sunil, however, was sensitive. He, like Penny, would not be fully okay until given an apology.

She knew where he had ran off to; after moping a little, he had almost certainly dashed straight to Vinnie. The gecko would be waiting, too, likely with a comforting hand, a gentle "It's okay, man, she cracked one about me, too" and the promise of a scary movie marathon that night to make up for the harm Pepper's new shtick was causing everyone.

Damn him. She loved the gecko like her little brother, but she knew she couldn't bear to see him wooing Sunil, with his nice attitude, gentle personality… big heart… oh, who was she kidding? She didn't have any of that stuff. Nothing Sunil would want, anyways…

She pulled her blanket above her head, trying to make the nagging thoughts disappear. It was going to be a long night.

The next day, after a fitful and tear-filled night's sleep, Pepper found herself, once again, at the pet shop. For once, there was nothing that excited her about the day ahead. With the way the guilt of her previous errors had been burrowing into her conscious, not even her genius new shtick could make her feel better. After all, she thought caustically, it was her shtick who had gotten her into this mess in the first place.

She looked around bitterly. _Coulda used a few days away from this place. _She grumbled internally to herself, wiping her aching eyes.

She said good-morning to no one as she bolted straight for her prop box. Tired though she was, there were a few things she had to set straight before she could relieve her aching conscious. The first thing on her priority list?

Fix things with Sunil. Step one to wooing him.

With that small glimmer of hope fighting valiantly against her nagging sense of guilt, she spent a few minutes sifting frantically through the plethora of comedy items she had accumulated over time before her covetous gray paw reached its target. She grinned to herself.

_Bingo. This'll help him see._

She grasped a hold of the prop tightly, inspecting it. It was one of her favorite items—a water gun disguised as a daisy. Not only was it pure comedic _gold, _it was sure to elicit a chuckle from Sunil, whom she hoped would view it as a symbol of her, you know, feminine charms. Or whatever.

She figured she wouldn't put anything in it. After all, another trick with Sunil as the victim was sure to put her even farther out of this favor than she already was.

_Still… that water dish looks miiiighty tempting. Hm? No, no, focus Pep. Eyes on the prize. You're trying to make it up to Sunil, not squirt him with some stupid water gun. The look on his face, though—his cute little face…_

Though Pepper was waging a war against her conscious, she already knew which side would win. She liked Sunil, she really did. However, few things could beat a good joke, and still fewer could beat the skunk when she had her mind set on something.

With a quick, furtive glance around the shop (no one, thankfully, was paying her any heed) she began filling her daisy-turned-water-gun to the brim. With a giddy smile, she then turned to look for her target.

There he was, playing by himself in the far corner of the shop. No Vinnie yet, either, Pepper noted happily. He must be off watching T.V. Perfect.

She faked a lot of bravado for how nervous she was feeling, and walked right on up to the mongoose, paws behind her back to hide her comedic weapon.

_Remember, Pepper, _she scolded herself internally, _This is about the apology… you can trick him after he starts to smile._

She began. Operation apology was a go.

"Hey Sunil, how are you on this loooovely morning?" she drawled with nervous excitement, both about her prospective apology and her prospective trick.

Despite the previous day's events, the mongoose didn't look too fazed. He gave her a small smile. "Oh, hello Pepper! I am fine, what about you?"

"Good as gold, buddy. Whatcha up to there?" She gestured to the box beside him, hoping she sounded genuine enough to please him.

"Right now I am in the process of preparing for my next magic trick. I want to make the contents of this box disappear completely." He paused and looked at her with strange eyes. Pepper was briefly confused at what he was getting at, but he soon continued slowly. "That is… not too boring for you, is it?"

Pepper could have sworn she heard her heart snap in two. _Of course he remembered. _She suddenly felt the full sting of her guilt rear its ugly head, the likes of which made her want to drop her prop and turn tail, away from the somber blue face of her friend and crush.

Still, though, she tried to continue. "Uh, heh, course not!" Her smile was forced and painful, and he looked on blankly at her.

After a pause, she shook off her smile and continued on. She sighed.

"Look, Sunil, I wanted to talk to you about that… What I said to you and the others yesterday wasn't right. I realize that now. Heck, I realized it the moment I said it. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, or make you feel like I actually believed that about you. H-honestly, I think you're pretty cool, I mean, your magic tricks and everything are awes—"

It was hard to catch Pepper, in all her rugged overconfidence, by surprise. But the hug Sunil had enveloped her in might have done the trick. She couldn't breathe, and it wasn't due to the intensity of his hug. He was quite gentle, actually, with his comforting blue paws... her train of thought stopped and she turned a bright shade of red.

"Er, Pepper?" he inquired, snapping her out of her reverie. They were still in a semi-close position, but he had pulled away slightly to look at her with bemused eyes. "I do truly appreciate your apology. In tfact, I found it quite… touching, may I say. I am just glad you do not sincerely think I am a bore. Of course I forgive you and all of that, however I must ask… why am I all wet?"

She was dumbstruck. Two surprises in a row had left her unable to speak. Sunil's teal chest was covered in water, water that must have spurted from the daisy when he had hugged her.

"Eh, er, I… uh… wouldja believe it was part of another joke?" She had nothing left to do but be honest. Her eyes closed in a wince as she prepared for yet another heartbreaking action by Sunil.

Instead, she was met with the sound of his giddy laughter. Make that three surprises. Damn, they just wouldn't stop, would they? She opened her eyes to see him wiping a tear from his.

"Hehe, oh, Pepper," he chuckled in his low voice, "You are simply _too _much!" He paused again, this time looking quite happy. He seemed to be hesitating in some form, a little nervous. Pepper wondered why, but he soon answered her thought with a teasing, "You did not quite get me this time, though, did you? I suspect it was _I _who took _you_ by surprise."

_Woah, look at Casanova go, _Pepper mused in response to his presumed attempt at flirting. Still, she was charmed… had she actually done it? Won his favor? With the way he was inspecting the daisy in his paws, she presumed so.

She grinned to herself, leaving him with the comedic prop. A little too much mushy stuff for one day, but she was still pleased.

_Not boring, _she mused, _not boring at all._


End file.
